Pages

Saturday, 31 July 2010

I recently discovered that I'm not the first family member to move to Australia. A cousin of my grandfather, from who I take my middle name, emigrated with her parents in 1912.

Their ship landed in Sydney and they then moved to the Brisbane suburb of Rocklea. They settled on a farm and stayed there until 1925/6 when they moved back to the UK. I haven't been able to find out why they moved back to the UK, although family legend says a drought may have driven them off the farm.

Once back in the UK they built a house and named it Corinda, which is the name of suburb next to Rocklea. My grandparents still live in Corinda and until recently I had no idea about the Australian origins of the name. I thought it was a Cumbrian term!

On my trip to Brisbane last weekend I went to visit the suburbs of Rocklea and Corinda. Sherwood Road is now home to Brisbane's wholesale fruit and vegetable markets. There are are still some open fields / paddocks at the northern end of the road and a nature reserve. (I think it was called Oxley Creek Common although I forgot to write down the name.)